The present invention relates generally to vehicle washers and more particularly to an automatic machine that both washes and dries an automotive vehicle. Frequently vehicle washers include a pair of tracks and a gantry. The gantry rides along the tracks and includes a series of rotating brushes and water outlets.
A vehicle may be driven between the two tracks and stopped. The brushes and water from the outlets may then wash the vehicle as the gantry rides along the tracks.
After such washing, water may be removed from the surface of the vehicle. Otherwise, the water may evaporate, leaving sedimentary deposits on the vehicle. Alternatively, if the vehicle is driven in cold weather, the water on the vehicle may freeze, preventing the doors, locks, and windows from operating.
In order to automatically dry off the vehicle, a separate air blower assembly may be erected, for example, near the ends of the tracks. Thus, when the washing is completed, the vehicle may be driven away from the tracks and through the separate blower assembly.
Unfortunately, drivers frequently tend to move their vehicle past the blower assembly at an improper rate of speed. Many drivers may move past the blowers too quickly, thus preventing the blowers from fully drying the vehicle. Others may drive past too slowly, wasting time and causing the blowers to waste energy.
Moreover, the addition of a "stand alone" dryer next to the tracks and gantry adds significantly to the floor space necessary to hold the wash and dryer device. Furthermore, such separate blower assemblies are relatively large and complex structures, which are expensive to build and maintain.
Other systems may incorporate drying blowers mounted on the gantry. Such devices, however, typically include extensive baffling arrangements to direct air from the blower to all exterior surfaces of the the car.
Furthermore, some systems use complex mechanical assemblies to move the baffling in and out from the gantry. Consequently, the baffling may closely follow the contour of the vehicle as the gantry follows its path. The mechanical assemblies to move the baffling are complex, however, and subject to breakdown. Moreover, both the vehicle and baffling may be seriously damaged if the mechanical assembly malfunctions and fails to retract the baffling at an appropriate time as the gantry moves over the vehicle.
Other systems may mount the baffling and even the blower near the area reserved for the vehicle to be washed. As a result, the size of the vehicle that the gantry can accommodate is reduced. In addition, there is a significant danger the the baffling or blower will scrape or impact the vehicle as the vehicle is driven under the gantry or as the gantry moves over the vehicle. Such a collision could damage both the vehicle and blower assembly.
Finally, many other systems use three or more blowers to dry the vehicle thoroughly. The use of so many blowers, however, makes the device more expensive to operate and increases the likelihood of mechanical breakdown.